The Talonhttps://bhhshawks.org
The Student News Site of Bishop Hendricken High SchoolMon, 13 May 2019 12:24:17 -0400en-US
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.3150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroadhttps://bhhshawks.org/844/showcase/844/
https://bhhshawks.org/844/showcase/844/#respondMon, 13 May 2019 12:23:58 +0000https://bhhshawks.org/?p=844This May 10, 2019 will be the 150th anniversary of the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in America. To celebrate the event, a Big Boy locomotive of the 4-8-8-4 notation will be completed and operated, despite not existing during the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. This engine was become the world’s largest operating steam locomotive. The Transcontinental Railroad marked an achievement in American history that, as I like to think of it, made America the world player it is today.

The idea of a transcontinental railroad came about during the 1832, and surveys of the land ran between 1853 and 1855. There were three proposed routes, and one of them was to pass through the southern U.S. This is a reason why the Gadsden Purchase happened, but that route was taken out of consideration during the Civil War. The next was a northern route along the Missouri River and through Montana. The chosen route ran along the Platte River and the Oregon Trail for economic and safety reasons.

The construction of the over 1800mile project started in 1863. The Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads built from west and east respectively, and they used government grant land. The Central Pacific had to have materials imported by ship to California, then by riverboat to the start of their end of the line. The project was staffed mostly by either discharged members of the Civil War or immigrants. They were given about $600 monthly (about $2/hour in today’s money), food, lodging, and, essentially, a way to get across the country just for labor. While this sounds terrible, keep in mind this is a steady stream of living during the Civil War. In only six years, the line was complete averaging just under a mile of track laid daily, not to mention the countless bridges and tunnels that had to be made. On May 10, 1869, Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, the last spike was hammered in as the news was telegraphed across the country. The famous golden spike that was hammered was replaced by a normal metal one after the ceremony.

I consider the Transcontinental Railroad to be a wonder of the world at the time. It revolutionized transportation and the sense of controlover America. While I do not technically consider it a transcontinental railroad, because it was not possible to board a train in New York City and arrive in San Francisco, it still enabled citizens to easily go west from the Mississippi River. A true transcontinental railroad would come to be after the completion of the Eads Bridge, the first permanent bridge across the Mississippi River, in 1874 by Andrew Carnegie’s Keystone Bridge Company. One massive, persistent problem that it had, that American railroads have today, is the need to use connection trains or having to share the line. One had to take a train to the Mississippi River, take a boat to the terminal in Omaha, then go to Utah for a connection, to then go to Sacramento, and finally get a ferry to San Francisco. Even today there is a major problem where companies must share lines for services. These lines are bidirectional, so one cannot run two trains on the same line.

The railroad surpassed many achievements of its time. American trains claimed speeds of around 40-80 mph, horses were, at best 40 mph, and people walk at about 3 mph. Trips were cut from six months to six days. When a true transcontinental railroad was made, it took an express train from New York 84 hours to travel it. The railroad also replaced thetranscontinental telegraph with their own. Snow sheds were implemented to eliminate plowing the tracks. The speed at which the line was completed is unimaginable even before considering it had to traverse under and over mountains, ravines, and rivers. It united the country after the Civil War and revolutionized how the west could be settled.

]]>https://bhhshawks.org/844/showcase/844/feed/0DECA’s First eventhttps://bhhshawks.org/842/clubs/decas-first-event/
https://bhhshawks.org/842/clubs/decas-first-event/#respondMon, 13 May 2019 12:19:51 +0000https://bhhshawks.org/?p=842On Friday March 1, 2019, Hendricken participated in the inaugural DECA (formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America) conference. DECA is primarily about the business literacy specifically in hospitality, administration, and finance.

The event was held at Johnson and Wales University in Providence. After a briefing at 9:00, teams from all over the state left the meeting hall to go to their events. Each person was to do a roleplay, and was given ten minutes to study and answer the questions and key points presented to them. One would write / prepare and take notes for the ten minutes and then were sent to a room with a judge. There, they would take on the character of the roleplay and have a professional conversation with the judge. The ability to think quickly is an important trait for a DECA member to have. Each person does one roleplay, and then waits for the day’s events to end around 2:00. This created plenty of time for participants to socialize with members from other teams. The team was fortunate enough to have sophomore Spencer Wood win his event in economics.

The team continues to work for next year in Miss Davenport’s room on Mondays. The DECA team is thankful she hosts the club and to Principal DeCiccio for having brought the club to Hendricken. The team is always looking for new members interested in business or is proficient in roleplay.

WALTHAM, MA (April 6, 2019) – No streak goes on forever. That’s what Hendricken students, faculty, and staff know better than almost anybody. The 2018-2019 “Paramount” show choir has won its last four competitions, winning grand champions at each. On Saturday, however, that streak ended. Hendricken placed second in the Eastern Show Choir Festival in Waltham, Massachusetts, marking only the second time that Hendricken hasn’t won this year.

This season, the group featured five captains. Alex LeBlanc ’20, Lily Brewster (St. Mary Academy – Bay View), and Marie Balemian (Pilgrim High School) all served as vocal captains. Dominic DaSilva ’20 and Eva Silva (Pilgrim High School) served as the group’s dance captains. Mr. Richard Sylvia served as the group’s director, and Christian Kabbas ’14 served as the choir’s technical director.

This year was special. Hendricken won four grand championships, meaning they won their division (small-mixed) a school record four times. The team also won Grand Champions in Virginia, marking the first time that Hendricken has won an out-of-state title in show choir competition.

Additionally, each of the group’s vocal soloists – Alex LeBlanc ’20, Dominic DaSilva ’20, Elizabeth Barrett (Toll Gate High School), and Lily Brewster – won an award for their performances over the course of the season. LeBlanc, who served as vocal captain for the first time this season, said: “This year we all got along, we’ve been creating bonds and we’ve been creating such a unitive team.” When asked about the year overall, DaSilva said: “This year has been very special because in years past everybody had focused on their awards (such as best soloist). This year the goal was always to win Grand Champions and put out the best show that we can.”

Vocal Captains Lily Brewster and Marie Balemian echoed the same sentiments. Both said how they’ve created bonds through group chats and even chanting and cheering for their bus driver. Having a strong bond with your team is one of the most crucial aspects of show choir. A scene occurred midway through the group’s performance on Saturday when Lily had to run onto stage for her solo, she slipped and fell, but got right back up. The adjudicators seemed to admire that, however, and gave her a special judge’s award.

When asked who she uses as her motivation for her solo, she replied: “I do it for Emily Fielding. Mr. Sylvia put us together. We have had a very wild ride over the last four years. We’ve created a really solid background for each other. We’ve always had somebody to turn to in case we needed it.” With “Paramount” being the only group of its kind in Rhode Island, they’ve had to travel in order to compete. The team traveled to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and even Virginia, to find the competition. All of it was worth it, as “Paramount” had one of the most successful seasons in school and New England history. This year leaves high expectations for next year’s group, and we are sure they will be able to exceed those expectations.

]]>https://bhhshawks.org/835/news/paramount-ends-most-accomplished-season-in-program-history/feed/0Captain Marvel Review (SPOILERS)https://bhhshawks.org/832/movie-reviews/captain-marvel-review-spoilers/
https://bhhshawks.org/832/movie-reviews/captain-marvel-review-spoilers/#respondTue, 02 Apr 2019 16:18:47 +0000https://bhhshawks.org/?p=832Here are my quick thoughts on Captain Marvel. The movie presents its theme of equality quite well and I found it also has an underlying message of critical and sufficient analysis of a situation in order to fully understand it. This review is not a summary but read at one’s own risk for spoilers.

The movie came out around Internation Woman’s Day 2019, March 8. Where it was coincidence or not, there is a theme of equality for women in the movie as Captain Marvel is a woman. The movie is not overbearing in this message, but instead portrays that both men and women accomplished the objective. The movie pulls off a non-overbearing portrayal of cooperation and the usefulness and uniqueness of the individual person.

The is also another important and current theme of receiving all the information. In the beginning of the movie, I was given one impression of the motives and goals of each group. This view given by the limited information was incorrect by the end of the film. Walking in with a limited knowledge of the Marvel universe, one would take the limited information given as it. If you can harken back to Guardians of the Galaxy, then you may be able to see through the supplied information here. When both sides of the story are given in an objective way, a new understanding can be formed against popular belief.

Like all Marvel movies, there is a lot of comedy and references that keep the movie moving in the duller moments. If you only watch the movies, then by the end of this movie, you should have made many connections to Guardians of the Galaxy. The characters and events of this movie play into that one. Respectfully, there is a message for the late Stan Lee before the movie. There are two end-credit sequences. The first is before the credits for Avengers: Endgame. The second is more for comedy than plot.

Captain Marvel is well written and paced. The delivery of its messages were done in a discreet but effective manner. I hope that I was able to communicate the themes in an objective and unoffensive way. I look forward to reviewing the next installment, Avengers: Endgame.

]]>https://bhhshawks.org/832/movie-reviews/captain-marvel-review-spoilers/feed/0Progressivism and the Gilded Age in RIhttps://bhhshawks.org/829/showcase/progressivism-and-the-gilded-age-in-ri/
https://bhhshawks.org/829/showcase/progressivism-and-the-gilded-age-in-ri/#respondTue, 02 Apr 2019 16:10:37 +0000https://bhhshawks.org/?p=829The Progressives was a time of social crusades and political reform in the United States. It took place in the 1890s to the 1920s.The Progressive Era was mostly known for women’s rights, income tax, antitrust laws, educational reform and prohibition. In Newport, Rhode Island during 1970 through 1914 Newport earned the distinction of “America’s first resort.” Previously Newport had been a summer resort for almost three hundred years. During the Gilded and Progressive Era Newport had received a lot of attention in the contemporary press.

Newport during this time was a resort usually for the upper class and wealthy.The Marble House was a main attraction in Newport for many families.The Marble house was a mansion which was unique in all aspects of other mansions in the United States. It was originally built as a summer cottage for Alva and William Kissam Vanderbilt.They were royal people during the time and after they divorced the mansion closed for a period of time.Fortunately, the Vanderbilt’s son bought the mansion and added it to the National Register of Historic Places on September 10, 1971. The Marble House still today stays a main attraction in Newport Rhode Island. Newport’s merchants, laborers, and domestic employees depended on the summer tourist industry for their livelihood especially with the Marble house.

Few would know that Newport during the Gilded Age summers would also be host to many important African American political, business, racial, ethical,civic , exc leaders. Men, women, and families of color would travel to Newport from Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington to take place in a important meeting for uninhibited social and cultural interchange.The Gilded Gilded Age Newport also provided employment opportunities for African heritage men and women. This was a time in which African Americans were being discriminated around the world. This was significant because most were coming from the south were not much jobs were being given. If given a job African Americans would use their opportunity to flourish the American Dream. Many African Americans felt very welcomed in Newport Rhode Island.’’If there was a watering place in America where respectable, refined and well-bearing colored ladies and gentlemen have as little reason to feel their color as in Newport.”

The Progressives Era and Gilded Age in Newport Rhode Island was a significant place. It gave tourism as a resort for the upper class. It gave African Americans more opportunity that they weren’t getting in the south. It gave them more jobs and a better chance in living the American Dream.

]]>https://bhhshawks.org/829/showcase/progressivism-and-the-gilded-age-in-ri/feed/0Bobby Hacketthttps://bhhshawks.org/826/showcase/bobby-hackett/
https://bhhshawks.org/826/showcase/bobby-hackett/#respondTue, 02 Apr 2019 16:02:19 +0000https://bhhshawks.org/?p=826Bobby Hackett was born in Providence, RI in the year 1915. He was born during the beginning of the war. He was one of nine Hackett children. Hackett grew up in love with music, playing a number of different instruments over the year. He played his first instrument which was a ukulele at a young age. Then he progressed to play the guitar and the violin. He was not one for school seeing as he dropped out of high school after his freshman year. Instead of going to school he would perform with a band seven times a week at a chinese restaurant. When his music career really started to kick off was when he was recruited by the Herbie Marsh Orchestra, who played in upstate New York. Bobby was a guitar player but another instrument he really enjoyed playing, and would play whenever he got the chance was an instrument called the cornet. The cornet is a brass instrument that looks like a trumpet but is shorter and wider. Bobby got the orchestra broken up because the manager told him to not pick up the cornet up again but he couldn’t resist and ended up picking up the cornet.

So the next summer Bobby worked in a tea room in Cape Cod, performing to the tea shop. Here he met a man by the name of Pee Wee Russell who recruited him to play in his band in the Cape. So Bobby spent most days playing at the Biltmore hotel in Providence to driving all the way to Cape Cod to play in Pee Wee’s band. Bobby was in love with music, music was his life and it treated him well. Though his music journey has just started, from there Bobby started a band with a man named Johnny Cranden who was a Harvard Medical student and a drummer. The two of them and four medical students and musicians became a band and called it the Harvard Gold Coast Orchestra. They would play at colleges all around Rhode Island on weekends.

Bobby kept hoping around finding work at places and switching up bands after just months of being with one band. Later he went to New York and co-lead a band that became a favorite stop for local musicians. One of Bobby’s most important events was when he participated in the historical segment of Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall Concert performing “I’m Coming Virginia” in tribute to Bix Beiderbecke who had recorded the number in 1927 with Frankie Trumbauer’s Orchestra. The next day he recorded with the Frankie Trumbauer Orchestra. Bobby married his childhood sweetheart and settled down and worked with music his whole life.

]]>https://bhhshawks.org/826/showcase/bobby-hackett/feed/0u-Boats in RIhttps://bhhshawks.org/823/showcase/u-boats-in-ri/
https://bhhshawks.org/823/showcase/u-boats-in-ri/#respondTue, 02 Apr 2019 15:53:14 +0000https://bhhshawks.org/?p=823October of 1916 a German U boat or submarine was spotted in the Newport Harbor. Germany, the head of the Central Powers during this time was well ahead of the allies in sea warfare technology during this time. A German U-Boat literally means under sea boat in English. During this time Newport Rhode Island was a huge shipping port and so was Nantucket in Massachusetts and had a huge naval presence there. With the United States helping the allies with supplies and weapons Germany had constant spies on the East coast. The United States joined the war in 1917. However, Rhode Islanders and America as a nation was ready for the war and had a parade in Providence celebrating the military and the United States preparing to go to war. Militarism was huge during this time. Militarism is the building up of the armed forces of a country preparing for war. The small state of Rhode Island had a huge contribution to the war as well it had registered 53,634men. The state also had about 13,000 men working for Brown and Sharpe, a tool making company was a huge contributor to the service, not only with tools but with men as well. Twelve percent of people enlisted in the service from Rhode Isoans worked for Brown and Sharpe. The United States also had the selective service act which allowed for the draft to happen. In 1917 the United States had 4.8 million men eligible for the draft and nearly 2.8 million were drafted. However the small state of Rhode Island was ready for war, having food donations and having pantries on the pleasant parkway in providence starting food drives for the war so they could supply the troops with food. With the huge military presence in New England Germany kept a close eye. The seas around Rhode Island and the East coast had around 53 German subs spying on the United States military operations. Not only because of our local ports but because of the U.S navy presence in Massachusetts as well.

There were many reasons Germany wanted a military presence and surveillance in United States waters. First they had an easily accessible coastline about five thousand miles away. Second, they could spy easily. The German U boat also known as the Deutchland. The German Kaiser did not want to directly start a conflict with the United States, however he wanted to be cautious and spy just in case. He knew that it was a matter of time before the United States got involved. One reason they got involved was because of the sinking of the Lusatania where Americans were killed and the ship was transporting weapons along with the Zimmerman note where Germany sent a message to Mexico asking them to attack the U.S on its southern border in exchange for land. Germany kept provoking the United States which led to conflict.

This U German U boat a model A U-53 was the same one that sank 6 intelligence vessels off the Nantucket Coast. This furthered tensions between the United States, the Allies and Germany. Further propelling the U.S to join the fight in 1917. Rhode Island had a rich history in its involvement in World War One.

The Macaroni Riots
The Macaroni Riots began in August of 1914 and continued through September. This period of unrest happened in the Italian immigrant neighborhood known as Federal Hill and more specifically, on Atwells Avenue. Frank Ventrone, an Italian pasta wholesaler, was to blame for increased prices in food after the world war in Europe had begun. Ventrone was accused of gouging prices for pasta by selling American-made pasta with Italian labels which caused prices to go up by nearly fifty percent. Two investigations on the matter were called for by the mayor of Providence and the governor of Rhode Island, however the results were rather disappointing to the people of Federal Hill, with retailers claiming they were not responsible for the sudden rise in prices and shifting the blame to wholesalers and the start of World War I.

The people of the Italian Socialist Club were infuriated with Ventrone and planned for the first protest to be held on August 22, with speeches speaking out against the increase in food prices and nearly two thousand attendants, the protest did not break out into violence. However, the following weekend was a different story. Another protest was to be held on August 29 at the corner of Atwells and Dean streets, but this time speakers tried to enrage the crowd of nearly one thousand people in order to march down to Ventrone’s store to vandalize it, smashing windows and throwing products from the store onto the streets. Ventrone had caught wind of this before it happened and asked policemen to guard his store, however, they were greatly outnumbered and forced to call in backup, which ended with a violent conflict with the police that tried to break up the angry mob and a shootout following the conflict. The mob of nearly one thousand also ended up vandalizing other stores that were on Atwells and located near Ventrone’s store as well.

More brawling between the police and the residents of Federal Hill occurred the next day that lasted about four hours and left eighteen people injured. After these two incidents, the streets of Federal Hill were filled with policemen in an attempt to prevent any more confrontations with the civilians. After the riots, Ventrone met with the leaders of the protests and agreed to lower his prices. There was also a final protest on Labor Day and after the protest’s speeches were finished, about one hundred men made thier way down Atwells and began throwing stones at every building in sight. This riot was quickly suppressed within about half an hour because the police were anticipating more riots to happen, so they had undercover policemen in plain clothes in order to blend in with the crowd and they prepared more officers on standby just in case the officers on duty needed backup. The undercover policemen ended up calling in the officers on standby, after the riot started to begin, which put a swift end to the riot without any gunfire.

]]>https://bhhshawks.org/820/showcase/the-macaroni-riots-of-1914/feed/0Hawks over Clippershttps://bhhshawks.org/818/sports/hawks-over-clippers/
https://bhhshawks.org/818/sports/hawks-over-clippers/#respondThu, 28 Feb 2019 19:52:06 +0000https://bhhshawks.org/?p=818The Hendricken Hawks took down the Cumberland Clippers this Tuesday night, 61 to 53, behind a big night from star sophomore point guard Sebastian Thomas. Thomas tailed 19 points to lead both teams in scoring, with senior guard Andre De Los Santos chipping in with 12 points of his own. Head Coach Jamal Gomes credits Thomas’s smart decisions while playing the point position, but also noted that “it wasn’t our best night defensively.” Gomes also stated that he would have liked to play a bit smarter, in which he was referring to bad passes and tough shots taken by the guard-heavy Hawks offense.

Gomes praised his senior starters, stating that both Bobby Fiorito and Andre De Los Santos both had good games, but at times were not smart with their choices when passing and shooting the ball.

A quiet night from star dual-sport athlete Angel Sanchez, who is known for being one of the more consistent guys on the team. Sanchez had 9 points but missed 4 free throws which could have essentially won Hendricken the game earlier. Sanchez did, however, have a few key passes and shots in the first half, with Hendricken barely being able to hold onto a lead.

Andre De Los Santos scored most of his points in the opening minutes, with the Hawks trailing by eight with a little under 2 minutes in the game has gone by.

Gomes emphasized after the game that “we have to defend and we have to rebound.” It by far was not the Hawks best night on the defensive side of the ball, with the Hawks giving up many offensive rebounds that could have been secured. Jackson Zancan, the starting big man for Cumberland, was one of the reasons the Hawks had a hard time getting rebounds, with Zancan being easily over six foot three. Even though Gomes said the team could have played better defensively, the Hawks did a good job off trapping Zancan in the second half, which helped the Hawks get more defensive stops which would lead to more baskets by the Hawks.

The Hawks were also helped by their bench tonight, with Sebastian Bastillo scoring four of his six points in the first half, along with Helio Sousa scoring a three-pointer from off the bench midway through the first half.

The Hawks, however, known for being a guard-heavy offense, had an unusually quiet night from big men Cam Hughes (who is still limited due to an ankle sprain suffered over eight weeks ago) and Tyriek Weeks. Weeks scored six points in the night, while Hughes scored two in limited minutes.

When asked what the game plan for the Hawks next opponent, Woonsocket High School, Gomes said they would “be in good shape win or lose” if they rebound and play defense. Gomes also stated that they would “go back to drawing board.” Another possibility Gomes said is that the Hawks could also see Cumberland in the first round of the state playoffs, but the Hawks will be ready and well equipped.

The Hendricken Hawks topped the Classical Purples Friday night, with major improvements on both sides of the ball. The Hawks had a big night on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball from center Sebastian Bastillo. Hendricken, playing in its first game since losing 44-41 to Mount Pleasant, had a very well balanced scoring attack.

Bastillo, who came off the bench in the opening minutes, replaced starter Tyriek Weeks, who committed multiple fouls early. Bastillo scored 16 points and dominated the defensive side of the ball. Bastillo contested every shot that came his way, leading to many Classical misses. In the locker room after the game, when asked if he thought his minutes would get busted because of his big night, Bastillo replied with a smile and laugh “as long as we win, I don’t care about my minutes.”

A scary moment for the Hawks came with 35 seconds to go in the half when starting guard Andre De Los Santos had to leave the game with assistance by the trainer after he came up limping after a play. Santos returned in the second half, scoring all of his 9 points in the second half.

Another scary moment for the Hawks came mid-way through the second half when Tyriek Weeks went down with a scary knee injury. Weeks was able to get up and head to the other side of the floor and drain his last mid-range jump shot, finishing off a 9 point game. After the game, trainer Joe Maynard said it was “just a bone bruise” and also stated that he just fell awkwardly on his knee. With center Cam Hughes playing limited minutes because of his ankle injury, it’s glad to hear that Tyreik is ok.

Star guard Angel Sanchez scored 14 points, including multiple assists which helped the Hawks climb back from an early hole. Guard Sebastian Thomas, who played 24 minutes of basketball before taking a well-deserved break, scored 12 points.

Since the game against La Salle, the Hawks did a much better job of crashing the boards and grabbing rebounds quickly. The Hawks dominated the defensive side but also gave up 3 offensive rebounds to Classical. However, when given a shot opportunity, good or bad, Classical could not finish and missed three-pointers.

Fouls are always a problem in Basketball, but Classical had 10 first-half fouls, which were mainly fouls that could have easily been avoided. The Hawks scored 8 points off of fouls. If those fouls were not committed, Classical could have easily been in the game.

Coach Gomes after the game, “I think as a team we showed some growth and improvement, both on the defensive and offensive side of the ball.” Gomes also stated, “Before the game, we talked about putting into play what we’ve been working on in practice.” The Hawks mainly played a 2-3 zone, with 2 men at the top of the key and 3 down low.